1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a humidifier and, in particular, to protective measures of piping and the like of a humidifier having a water circuit and performing a batch operation.
2. Related Art
There has been known a humidifier that adjusts the humidity of air by the use of an adsorbent and a refrigeration cycle (for example, see patent document 1).
A humidifier disclosed in the patent document 1 has two adsorbing devices each having an adsorbent and a refrigerant circuit for performing a refrigeration cycle. This humidifier performs a first operation that dehumidifies first air by a first adsorbing device and that reproduces a second adsorbing device by second air heated by a condenser of the refrigerant circuit and a second operation that humidifies the first air by the second adsorbing device and that reproduces the first adsorbing device by the second air heated by the condenser. These two operations are alternately performed, whereby the dehumidified first air or the humidified second air is supplied into the room.
On the other hand, it can be thought to use an adsorption heat exchanger in which the adsorbing device and a heat exchanger are combined in one unit having the adsorbent supported thereon. In this case, the adsorption heat exchanger is constructed of a so-called fin-and-tube type heat exchanger having many plate-shaped fins and a copper pipe passing through the fins. The adsorbent is supported on the surfaces of the fins and the copper pipe. This heat exchanger dehumidifies and humidifies air flowing therethrough by the adsorbent and heats and cools the adsorbent by refrigerant flowing through the copper pipe.
Further, a humidifier can be thought that uses a water circuit, in which cold water and hot water flow, in place of the refrigerant circuit. In other words, the cold water and the hot water are alternately flowed through the adsorption heat exchanger to cool and heat the adsorbent.    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-60954